St Mary Elementary & Jr High School

During my child’s three years at Washington Elementary in Dixon, Illinois, we had an extremely disappointing experience. My child was bullied not only by other students, but I also felt unsupported by some of the teachers. My child was jumped by several students, bitten, hit, kicked, and had multiple children on him at once. I was repeatedly told that he had started these incidents. However, if the school was aware that there were ongoing problems between my child and other students, I feel strongly that more should have been done to prevent the situation from repeatedly escalating to the point that my child was being physically harmed.Another major concern was how my child was treated in the classroom. On several occasions, teachers suggested that he had ADHD, pointing out that he would lose interest quickly, get out of his seat, or get into things. During one parent-teacher conference, a teacher even stood up and demonstrated what she claimed was my child’s behavior.I was also told by a teacher that she had become a teacher primarily because it allowed her to have the same schedule as her own children. I have heard similar concerns from other people regarding experiences within the Dixon school district. Ultimately, I made the decision to move my child to a different school district before ever having him evaluated for ADHD, and it was one of the best decisions I could have made.At his new school, these behaviors essentially disappeared. Instead, his teachers recognized that he was very intelligent and that he needed to be challenged more academically to remain engaged. He no longer had ongoing problems with other students, and he is actually one of the calmest kids I know. Now, years later, my niece attends Washington Elementary, and I am hearing similar concerns about teachers attributing her behavior to the same types of issues I experienced with my own child. That is incredibly concerning to me and makes me wonder whether this has become a pattern.Parents should know that if their child is struggling to stay engaged, getting restless, or acting out in the classroom, there may be more to the situation than simply labeling the child as having a behavioral or attention problem. Sometimes children need to be challenged, understood, and taught in a way that keeps them engaged. My experience with Washington Elementary left me feeling that my child was being labeled instead of truly understood. Moving schools was the best decision I could have made.

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